H4 EAD Updates(May 2019) Save Jobs Reply filed, OMB Meeting done

H4 Visa EAD 2019 News – Lawsuit Status, Trump Administration Actions

H4 EAD News Update Today, May 22nd, 2019 – The H4 EAD rule removal is part of the Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda. It was part of Spring 2018 Agenda as well. Technically NO new status update or new development. Appearing on the regulatory agenda means that, it is still a priority for the current administration and nothing else. There are rumors by few websites telling that the rule will be published soon by Govt., which is pure speculation and NOT true.

Also, we hit the 90 days mark for OMB review on May 20th, no update from them yet on the rule…They can extend to another 30 days until June 20th…Check below timeline for more info. But, the rule is not yet published and still in pending state. No new update from the court side.

The most recent update is that Save Jobs USA put up their counter arguments for all the points raised by DHS and intervenors in their reply brief. Check out timeline for more details.

The most recent update on H4 Rule Removal side is, the proposed draft is with OMB and the review meetings were complete by May 1st, 2019.

Background of H4 visa EAD Rule :

For many years, since the H4 visa program inception, H-4 holders have not been provided with any work authorization. This changed on May 26, 2015 when USCIS passed the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses rule. The H4 visa dependent spouses were eligible for work authorization EAD provided the H-1B spouse satisfies one of the below two:

Have an approved I-140, which is the immigration petition for foreign citizens to get Green Card or Permanent Residency in USA.

Have H1B visa status extended beyond 6 years under AC21 Act, which allows H1B holders seeking Green Card to work and stay in USA beyond 6 years, if their Green Card or Permanent Residency Application is Pending.

Soon after the H4 Visa EAD Rule was enacted, two things happened:1. Thousands of H-4 spouses applied for H4 visa EAD ( Employment Authorization Document) and got their first chance to work in US after many years of staying at home.2. A lawsuit was filed against the H4 EAD rule to stop it from going into motion. More details on H4 EAD Lawsuit.

What’s the H4 EAD Lawsuit ?

‘Save Jobs USA’ (an organization comprised of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers) filed its lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on April 23, 2015 before the rule was about to go live. The lawsuit was initially dismissed by a Federal district court in September 2016 (check references below ) as “Save Jobs USA” could not defend their lawsuit that H4 EAD holders will impact them. The plaintiffs, who is ‘Save Jobs USA’, filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeal for the DC Circuit. The plaintiffs, claim two things:1. The new rule has no protections for US workers and increases the pool of workers looking for jobs2. DHS never had the authority to grant EADs to H-4 visa holders.

H4 EAD & Trump Administration Timeline, Latest News :

Since President Trump’s administration took office, there has been lot of speculation and rumors about what will happen to H-4 visa EAD rule. Below is the timeline of what has happened since President Trump took oath:

February 2, 2017: The Trump administration requested ( filed a motion) a 60 day abeyance (state of temporary inactivity ) to consider the issue and submit their brief ( response to consider the case).

April 3, 2017 : The administration asked ( filed a new motion) for additional 180 day abeyance(state of temporary inactivity ) before they can provide their opinion. The Trump administration will update court every 60 days on the issue and update court before elapse of 180 days.

June 23, 2017: The appeals court granted a stay on Jun 23rd, 2017 and asked both the parties, SAVE Jobs USA and DHS to file further motions on how they would like to proceed with the case by Sep 27, 2017.

September 20, 2017: SAVE Jobs USA has filed its motion stating that DHS has not taken any action and no publication of rule has been done in Federal register related to the H4 EAD rule and they requested for oral argument to conclude the case. They continue to tell that the delay would hurt american workers and new litigation would begin again.

September 27, 2017: DHS ( Trump administration) filed a motion and requested the appeals court to hold the current H4 EAD case again in abeyance( which basically means hold on temporarily in suspension ), until December 31,2017. The whole reason DHS have asked for this extension is to ensure that DHS and administration align their entire approach to implement Trump Executive Order 13788 on Buy American Hire American and consider how to handle the H4 EAD rule as part of overall view. For source, you will need PACER Login to view the entire document on court’s website. Below is a screenshot of the actual info.

November 17, 2017: There was a new request to extend the deadline, but court has denied the extension and has asked to continue and proceed and file their motions by January 2nd, 2018. See below

November 21st, 2017 (Unofficial – News) : A News article on Breitbart news says that there is a regulation drafted by DHS and is on the table to end the H4 visa EAD program. Until we see this published, it is still a rumor. You can read the News on Breitbart.com . There are so many speculations all over the place, please take every news with a pinch of salt.

December 14th, 2017 ( Official ) : DHS has published an agenda item “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorization” today in the Fall 2017 Regulatory agenda. Basically all it says is that they intend to amend the original rule published for H4 EAD Rule in 2015 and potentially remove it as per the Buy American, Hire American EO by Trump Administration . It states that the DHS Secretary has authority to do as per INA regulations. Not many details published except that it is part of the agenda and they plan to remove it. We have no details on what happens to current H4 EAD holder working. As of today, basically nothing changes as it is in proposed rule state. We can expect progress or update on this in February 2018. Below is a screenshot on what you see on regulations.gov You can check the actual official info at Reginfo.gov

December 22nd, 2017 ( Official ) : Both DHS and SAVE Jobs have filed respective motions, one to hold the case in abeyance (hold), other fo oral argument and not hold the case in abeyance. Below is quick summary.

DHS MotionSummary : DHS has filed a motion to hold the lawsuit in abeyance ( basically on hold/suspension ) as they are in regulatory process of implementing the “Removal of the H4 EAD” and they plan for Notice for proposed rule making ( NPRM) in February 2018. They say that having an oral argument now is of no use, when the H4 EAD rule is going to removed with regulation. As they are in process of removing, they are asking more time and will inform court in July, 2018 on the progress. You can check the document link in Official Documents section below.

SAVE Jobs Motion Summary : SAVE Jobs argues that in the first place DHS never had the authority to implement the H4 EAD rule without an act in Congress. They say that the regulatory process will take years, as the previous H4 EAD rule making took over 2 years from publication in regulatory agenda, and it will impact many of the Americans. Also, this process will lead to more lawsuits around the DHS rule to remove H4 EAD. The best path is to have oral argument and have a judgment.You can check the document link in Official Documents section below.

Current Status : Court is yet to review and give a decision on the motions filed by both. We will keep you posted.

January 5th, 2018 ( Official ) : Many are waiting still for the update as we are past Jan 2nd, 2018 ,which was when we are supposed to hear something from the Court. As of now, there is no update on the case. We have checked court case updates, nothing has been published. Just to give you a perspective, the court has responded at least over 1.5 month after the motions were filed. As you can see below the actual court updates from the case on Court’s website, I have highlighted the one in RED, where court responded to the Motion filed. Now, if the same trend continues from court, we may not hear back anything end of January or February. Of course, just guessing here based on history. We will keep you posted, once there is an update. As nothing has happened, it can be assumed that Court has given DHS until July 2018 to hear the update. Again, we need official court response, will let you all know, once updated by court.

February 21st, 2018 ( Official ) : After a very long wait, finally today there is an update on the case by court. They have ordered the case to be held in Abeyance ( basically hold) and denied the plea of oral argument by SAVE Jobs. As you can see below, they mention that, the reason for their decision is that they see the plan of rule-making by DHS to propose rule to remove H4 EAD in February 2018. DHS is asked is report status on the H4 EAD rule within 90 days from the order day, which is today Feb 21st, 2018 and also every 90 days after that. Basically, DHS has to file an update with Court by May 22, 2018 on the H4 EAD rule-making. Now, as far as the rule-making from DHS, nothing has been sent to OMB yet for review. So, we need to still wait.

Next Steps : DHS to update Court regarding H4 EAD rule making by May 22, 2018.

H4 EAD Removal Rule Making Status : No rule is sent to OMB for review yet. Need to wait.

February 28th, 2018 ( Official ): DHS filed a status report with the DC Circuit Court stating that upon review by USCIS, they believe that draft of the regulation need to be revised further and they need some more time until June 2018.hey anticipate that it will be June 2018, when they can submit the proposed regulation to Office of Management and Budget for review and clearance in time for publication. The court document says that the decision to remove H4 EAD using regulation does not change, but they need more time. See below the document with sections highlighted.

Next Steps : DHS to update court regarding H4 EAD removal regulation rule making process in next 90 Days, maybe end of May 2018.

H4 EAD Removal Rule Making Status : Regulation will be revised further and send to OMB by June 2018. Need to wait.

March 26th, 2018 ( Official ): Few of the Members of Congress wrote to USCIS Secretary requesting to reconsider and not revoke the H4 EAD rule. But, USCIS responded saying just that, they are working towards the president’s goal of Buy American and Hire American and everyone will get a chance to submit comments during the rule comments period to submit feedback. See below. You can check the actual Request Letter and Respond from USCIS

April 4th, 2018 ( Official ): USCIS Director wrote to Senate outlining various H1B and H4 changes in a letter and plans of USCIS. It also talks about their intention to remove H4 EAD and the regulation in planning. Below is the screenshot of the exact info. It clearly tells that they plan to remove it with regulation and public will get a chance to provide feedback during comment and notice period. Check original document of USCIS Letter sent to Senate Judiciary committee

May 10th, 2018 ( Official ) : H4 EAD Rule removal is now part of Spring 2018 agenda and the timeline has been updated to June 2018 for rule proposal and comment period. The current rule published in RegInfo.gov does not have much changes, except there is no need justification in the current rule proposal. See below the comparison. The green highlighted one is not there is Spring 2018 rule info. Check the actual rule info at Reginfo.gov Spring 2018 H4 Removal Rule

May 16th, 2018: A group of 130 members of congress lead by Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Rep. Mia Love, signed a letter to the DHS asking Trump administration to reconsider its plans to remove H4 EAD rule for certain spouses of H1B. You can read actual : Singed Letter H4 EAD

May 23rd, 2018 ( Official ) : Despite all the letters, etc. nothing has changed from DHS/ USCIS in their stance towards the rule removal. Yesterday, DHS filed an update with the court indicating their stance and the progress with H4 EAD removal rule. It is a simple update and tells that the H4 EAD rule removal is in final clearance and will be sent to OMB for review and their plans remain unchanged for publication of NPRM for H4 EAD Removal Below is the most important piece of info clipped from the court document. You can check full Official H4 EAD Court Documents

August 20th, 2018 ( Official ) : USCIS updated court on their latest status indicating that final DHS Clearance review is ongoing and its intention/ stance on the issue remains unchanged. See below screenshot from the exact ruling. In general, the OMB review process takes anywhere from a month or more, so we may expect the ruling around in late September 2018. You can check the full document at Official H4 EAD Court Documents

September 11th, 2018 ( Official ): SAVE Jobs USA has filed a motion in court asking the court to conduct briefing and oral argument very soon. It is pretty lengthy 11 page document submitted by SAVE Jobs USA that highlights the delays and says nothing has moved in the last year and half and if it goes at this pace, it will take years for this case to be closed and they say “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”. Also, they say that there could be another litigation as well, if the H4 EAD is removed, so they are asking for oral hearing to clarify one simple question if DHS had the authority to give H4 EAD without Congress approval. The key info is highlighted below in screenshots. If you are interested in reading the actual filed Motion Document, you can check it out at Official H4 EAD Court Documents

September 21st, 2018 ( Official ): In response to SAVE Jobs motion filed earlier this month, DHS submitted in court their response requesting to hold the case as it is as they are making swift progress. DHS’s senior leadership has reviewed and proposed some changes and they plan to submit the rule to OMB within 3 months. DHS argues in the response document to all the concerns raised by SAVE Jobs USA in their motion regarding more jobs lost, future litigation, etc. The overall message DHS says is that, it is in best interest of everyone to hold the case hearing on hold until the process is completed as it would waste court’s and everyone’s time as their intent has not changed and they are making swift progress. The key info is highlighted below in screenshots. You also read the actual response document at by DHS at Official H4 EAD Court Documents

October 16th, 2018 ( Official ): Senators Harris and Gillibrand wrote a letter to USCIS on Sept 26th,2018 regarding H4 EAD removal to reconsider as it will create extreme hardship for many families. USCIS responded officially to their letter stating that their priorities are to implement President Trump’s Buy American Hire American policies and safeguard US workers, stating that there will be comment period for everyone to provide feedback. You can check Official Letter from USCIS for Senator Harris

October 17th, 2018 ( Official ): Fall 2018 Regulatory agenda was published and it included H4 EAD rule removal as one of the agenda item. DHS is looking to propose NPRM for H4 EAD rule removal in November 2018 as per the update. We are just waiting for the rule to be published. Check more details of Fall 2018 Regulatory Agenda – H1B, H4 Impact Summary

November 16th, 2018 (Official) : A new bill called “H4 Employment Protection Act” was introduced in House by Reps. Eshoo and Lofgren. The whole idea of the bill is to stop Trump Administration from Revoking / Removing the H4 EAD Bill. It talks about hardships and benefits. Still very early stages, not much to predict. You can read Summary of the H4 Employment Protection Act, Status, Impact

November 16th, 2018 (Official) : Also, semiannual regulatory agenda with H4 EAD rule removal info was published today in Federal Register. It is under sequence number 299. The NPRM is not yet published.

Nov 17th to Dec 16th, 2018 ( Unofficial) : No updates from Nov 16th to Dec 16th. There was a status report due to Court on Nov 19th, but nothing was sent to court. We are expecting that DHS would very likely publish the rule for OMB review by December 21st, 2018. The reason is that they have mentioned that to the court on September 21st that they would file it to OMB within 3 months and that day would be Dec 21st. Check DHS court documents and above updated from September 21st screenshot of official court.

Dec 17th, 2018( Official) : US Court of appeals issued two Per Curiam Orders ( basically issued by court and not a specific judge) stating few things :

To remove the court case of H4 EAD Lawsuit from abeyance ( basically on hold or dormant status)

Denied the motion filed to expedite the case ( take decision quicker)

Granted a motion for leave to intervene ( meaning a third party other than the two parties fighting in the case to join the case past deadline ) for ImmigrationVoice team to join the case and let them put in their argument in oral hearing. Check out ImmigrationVoice FB Page

Ordered all the parties to file a new opening briefs( a written argument on what went wrong with case and facts) and also the new party joined the case to file the same. See dates in below screenshot.

It is going to be interesting as we have lot of things going on in parallel with DHS and court case in progress.

Next ActionSteps in the H4 EAD Lawsuit : By Jan 16, 2019 Save Jobs USA has to file a new Replacement Opening Brief ( written documentation supporting their lawsuit ) and after that by Feb 16th, 2019 DHS has to file their Brief (supporting documentation for the lawsuit defence ). Immigration Voice will need to file their Brief ( supporting information and facts) regarding the lawsuit by Feb 22nd, 2019. Based on all of these Brief’s submitted, SAVE Jobs USA has to reply by March 15, 2019.

Jan 15th, 2019(UnOfficial ) : No new updates on H4 EAD until today in this new Year 2019. Tomorrow is when court should get the replacement brief from SAVE Jobs USA. Also, Trump did a random tweet without any details saying that H1B will be given path to citizenship. With partial Government shutdown, there will be delays for the H4 EAD removal process… Also, We still continue to wait for the proposed rule to be sent to OMB to be reviewed for NPRM. We were expecting it to be published around last week of December 2018, but now with the new court orders and US Govt Shutdown, things have changed and we have to wait and see what happens .

Jan 16th, 2019( Official ) : SAVE Jobs USA Filed its replacement Opening brief today. It is a pretty lengthly 77 page document with an appendix of 116 pages. The replacement brief filed by Save Jobs USA emphasises on the previous points such as DHS lacking authority to give H4 EADs in first place and how H4 EADs are hurting the SAV Jobs USA members. Check out Summary of H4 EAD Lawsuit Replacement Brief with Argument Points, Facts

Jan 18th, 2019( Official ) : DHS filed a motion today to put a stay on the deadlines as there is no funding due to Govt. Shutdown and they request to put the case in abeyance and put hold on the deadlines to submit response. Court reviewed it and denied the motion to hold the case in Abeyance or put stay on the deadlines. See below. You can check all court documents at H4 EAD Lawsuit Court Documents History

Jan 23rd, 2019 ( Official ) : DHS filed another consent motion requesting to enlarge the deadlines by 30 days, they have raised Govt Shutdown issues and the situation that many cannot work even on voluntary basis. After further review, Court has given consent for the same. Below is the screenshot. TO read actual documents, check out H4 EAD Lawsuit Court Documents History

Feb 20th, 2019( Official ) : DHS Submitted the H4 EAD Rule removal to OMB ( Office of Management and Budget) for review today ( see below). It is marked as economically significant. If you look at the general 9 Step Federal Rule Making Process, we are in step number four. OMB Office can take anywhere from few days to 90 days. Now, with all the lawsuit and this going on, it is not very positive news for H4 EAD holders. Based on today’s update of OMB, we have revised the H4 EAD removal Predictions, check out H4 EAD Rule Removal Predictions for updated timelines. The actual H4 EAD removal rule is not published yet and still in proposed rule stage. Still all eligible H4 holders can apply for EAD. Watch the short video below as well. Check the official OMB Pending Review of Rule on Reginfo.gov

March 12th, 2019(Official ) : On the lawsuit side, DHS has requested Court to extend their date by 14 days due to pre-planned court hearing travels, leave. They have asked the new date to be April 1st. Court is yet to respond to the request. See below for the official info on the documents submitted. On the rule making side, nothing has changed and the rule info is submitted to OMB ( Office of Management and Budget) and they are reviewing the same. If court approves, we may not hear anything until April. We need to wait and see, if court will give the extension…Stay tuned for updates.

March 14th, 2019(Official ) : Court reviewed DHS request and approved it with an order to extend the date to submit brief to April 1st, see below the revised dates. This order gives DHS more time for OMB review of the initial proposed rule.You can check H4 EAD Lawsuit Court Documents History for actual documents. No new update on the rule-making side, we are still waiting for OMB update on the rule review…DHS is just buying more time to have the rule review complete from OMB, so that they can have a strong brief in the court on their intent to revoke the H4 EAD rule..Stay tuned for updates.

April 1st, 2019(Unofficial) : No new updates today as of 8:30 PM EST. Today was the deadline for brief from DHS, but nothing came out today as of 8:30 PM EST.…Usually the updates happen in the business hours, we have not seen anything today. Maybe we see something tomorrow. Also, we are still waiting for review and updated from OMB, we were expecting something there, nothing moved there as well. On the other hand, H1B 2020 Season Starts Today and USCIS Launched H1B Employer Data Hub today. Also, if you are on H4, recently USCIS introduced New Form I-539, with Biometrics that will impact H4 EAD processing times. You can check out our short video in summary for March 2019 updates, you can watch it below. It is a 2 min video. Also, if you are filing

April 2nd, 2019(Official) : Late last night ( see below) DHS filed their brief with the court, where they argue that Save Jobs could not establish their argument that it will harm SAVE Jobs Members. It is a 49 page document, we have summarized it. Check out Summary of DHS Argument and Appellee’s brief submitted with court. We have put up a short video on Youtube, you can check it below.

Also, there is another update on Skilled Immigrants America Facebook group stating the background work done by a group of H4 holders advocating to fight against the removal of H4 EAD rule and lawsuit. They have met with OMB and submitted lot of data and report on the current situation of H4 holders . The group believes that it helped shape up DHS brief to indicate that Save Jobs does not have standing in the case. Check it at : Skilled Immigrants America Facebook group

April 8th, 2019(Official) : We had two Intervenor briefs submitted yesterday. One by Immigration voice only and Second one by Immigration voice and other non-profit trade organizations. Both of them support H4 EAD and support all the actions of DHS.

First Brief by Immigration Voice and Non-Profit Trade Orgs : The first brief is 38 page document and talks about the merits of H4 EAD program to US businesses and highlight the impact and how it will affect families, etc. and support H4 EAD. Key points include

Contributions to US Economy, Taxes, etc

Damage done to irrevocable life decisions of H4 Holders

How EAD will not impact american jobs

DHS had power to create H4 EAD rule based on 1324a.

Congress did not prevent H4 EAD as they did not had any intent on the same.

Second Brief by Immigration Voice Only : The second brief is 54 pages and talks about the case supporting DHS brief and the overall case addressing the Save Jobs points raised in their brief.. Key Points include

DHS argued it correctly in their brief

Immigration voice has standing as Intervenor due to court order and the potential injury to H4 Holders

50 years History of how INA has given authority for DHS to create rules like H4 EAD.

From Rule-making side, no update from OMB on the H4 EAD rule removal yet, it still pending review.

Video Summary on First Brief with Immigration Voice and Others :

Video Summary on Second Brief with Immigration Voice Only :

April 25th, 2019(Official) : We have a scheduled date now for the OMB review meetings ( EO 12866 Meetings ) for the H4 EAD removal rule. It is scheduled for May 1st, 2019 for 3 pm. It is updated on the Reginfo.gov website. See below. On the lawsuit side from the court, no new updates, it is same state since April 8th. We are expecting something to be filed by Save Jobs USA on April 29th, 2019.

April 29th, 2019(Official) : Save Jobs USA filed their Appellant’s reply brief earlier today. It is a 37 page document. In short below is the summary from the reply brief

On the rule removal side, the next meeting is scheduled for 1st of May. Stay tuned for updates.

May 4th, 2019(UnOfficial) : No new update today. One of the fellow (who represents Save Jobs USA in the H4 EAD Court Case) from Center for Immigration studies published that OMB may not directly approve H4 EAD rule removal as it is in current state based on his analysis of parallel with DACA as it could end up in legal battle. So, it can take time and DHS will take a deep dive and he believes that Court would ultimately decide such things. Check article . No update on the OMB review meeting. The purpose of the OMB Review meeting, also called as EO 12866 review meeting, is to review the current rule proposed by DHS to assess the holistic purpose, costs, benefits. The exact statement : “Executive Order 12866 requires an analysis of the costs and benefits of rules and, to the extent permitted by law, action only on the basis of a reasoned determination that the benefits justify the costs.”

May 8th, 2019(Official) : OMB Meetings list page is fully updated with data from previous meetings that were conducted in March. They were attended by many groups. See below screenshots. There were few meetings held on 3/26/2019. The meeting at 1:30 was attended by IRLI, which is a American Employees Rights Organization, unlike at 1:00 PM the meeting was attended by many Indians and USCIS officials. Most of these meetings are OMB review meetings to assess the impact of the rule as part of due diligence. These meetings can be requested to work with OMB to convey the feedback. Overall, one weird thing is that one of them says Final Rule Stage, it is very confusing as the rule is still in proposed rule stage and you cannot be in final rule stage…I am guessing it could be a typo…Because, as you can see all rules have to go through 9 Rule Making Steps and H4 EAD Removal rule is not there yet…We are still few days away from reaching the 90 days mark for OMB deadline.

Also, the overall status of the rule on Federal Register has not changed and it still says Pending Review. Only new info added is the meetings data. You can check all of this at Reginfo.gov H4 EAD rule.

If you know anyone who attended or you are one of them who attended meeting, may you can share details with the community in comments or in WhatsApp groups listed below or Facebook.

No New update on the Lawsuit side, it is same as before..

May 20th, 2019(Official & Unofficial) : OMB Meetings list page had typos of the final rule, now it is updated to reflect “Proposed Rule Stage”, but one typo still exists for the May 1st meeting. it still says Scheduled. Also, we hit the 90 day mark today for OMB review, technically, we should have heard something today, but they can extend by another 30 days until June 20th, need to wait and see. No update from the court side on the Lawsuit, we are waiting for court’s next steps.

May 22nd, 2019(Official) : The H4 EAD rule removal is part of the Spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda. It was part of Spring 2018 Agenda as well. Technically NO new status update or new development. Appearing on the regulatory agenda means that, it is still a priority for the current administration and nothing else. See below screenshot and at Reginfo.gov. There are rumors by few websites telling that the rule will be published soon by Govt., which is pure speculation and NOT true. There is no update from the Court Side on the lawsuit.

What is the H4 EAD Removal Estimated Timeline, Predictions ?

Every proposed rule has to go through Standard 9 Rule Making Steps in US to become law, in our context H4 EAD removal also has to go through the same steps. We have outlined the entire rule making process and mapped it to current H4 EAD rule removal progress. Also, based on data and varying speed, we have done predictions on when we can estimate the rule to be removed. Read article H4 EAD Rule Removal Estimated timeline Predictions for all details. In short, looking at all current situations, we predict that, it may take an estimated amount of 10 months or more for H4 EAD to be removed. With current political climate and new H4 Employee (EAD) Protection Act Bill in House, things can change anytime and slow down quite a bit, stay tuned

Common H4 EAD Rule Removal FAQs

Can you still apply for H4 EAD ? Can you work on H4 EAD, when this revoke rule process is going on ?

Well, it is hard to tell what USCIS will do once they implement the final rule to remove the H4 EAD. They will publish the guidance on the impact and what happens to existing H4 EADs and their validity, we need to wait and see. Having said that, in the past for DACA and other similar rules, DHS let the existing EADs be valid until they expire, which technically let them work until their full validity. So, we can speculate similar aspects for H4 EAD and may expect that H4 EADs will also be allowed to work until they expire or until the end of the validity period.

Should I apply for Change of Status from H4 EAD to H1B to continue my work ?

Well, it does not hurt to apply for H1B, if your employer is willing to sponsor H1B for you in the upcoming H1B Visa 2020 Season. It gives you an extra backup option to work, if something happens to H4 EAD and USCIS does not let H4 EADs work until the expiry date after rule is removed. You should consider applying for H1B visa petition with Consular processing, instead of change of status from H4 to H1B, as it will give you an option to work on H4 EAD, until it expires and switch to H1B only, if needed after expiration. If you get picked in H1B visa lottery and have approved H1B, then you can apply for Change of Status to H1B and work as needed. Discuss with your employer and see, if this can be done.

Can any of the groups file a Lawsuit against DHS regarding H4 EAD Rule Removal ?

Well, it all depends on what comes out of the rule-making process. Putting up a lawsuit is something many groups may be considering and all of them are waiting for the outcome of the current process. As you know there is already we have H4 Employment Protection Act, Status, Impact in house supporting H4 EAD to exist…Overall, we can speculate lawsuit, but it is too early to say…

Can I apply for H4 EAD in 2019 with all the Rule Removal process and the New Bills to Stop H4 EAD in progress ?

It all started with a lawsuit by ‘Save Jobs USA’, that questioned the authority of DHS to grant EADs for H4. After Trump administration took office, they took charge of the lawsuit, took time, delayed the process and finally aligned to remove H4 EAD rule in line with Executive Order of Trump Buy American, Hire American. They made an item “Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorization” , as part of Spring 2018 Regulatory Agenda and continued the same in Fall 2018 Regulatory agenda indicating their intent to remove the rule and communicated the same to Court as well and requesting more time not to go for oral hearing.

Many attempts were made in the meantime by Members of Congress, Many other groups including CEOs of companies, writing letters to USCIS to re-consider and not remove H4 EAD and the hardships it will create to many, but all of them were politely replied saying their intent is to align with Trump’s Executive order priorities and public will get chance to put in their comments during rule removal process. USCIS has been delaying this as they know they have to be very thorough to submit to OMB and then to public. The last official update is that H4 EAD rule removal was sent to OMB for review on Feb 20, 2019 and the meeting with them was held on May 1st, we are yet to hear on the rule. On the other hand, we had a new bill in House introduced in Jan 2019 to protect H4 EAD holders, but it has been dormant for a while now. With Democrats, having the majority in house, this also can play a part.

On the lawsuit front, court issued an order to remove case from abeyance (dormant state) and gave dates for submitting new opening brief ( supporting documentation and info for their lawsuit) to SAVE Jobs and given dates for the same from Jan to March 2019. ImmigrationVoice team also got the request accepted to intervene and present their facts and findings in the lawsuit. On Jan 16th Save Jobs USA filed their replacement brief putting strong argument stating that DHS exceeded their authority and H4 EAD has to be removed. DHS got couple of extensions and managed to file their brief on April 1st, 2019, where they argued that the current court should agree with previous court and dismiss the case or send it back to them, if they need to question the new aspect of “DHS exceed authority”. They have indicated that their H4 EAD rule removal process is still going on and rule may be published for comments once the OMB review is completed and signed. The intervenor brief was filed on April 8th as two set of documents and they fully support the H4 EAD and it is inline with DHS argument as well. On April 29th, Save Jobs filed their reply brief and it had some strong counter arguments put in as well. Only court can validate the statements put up by Save Jobs, so we now wait for the court.

Overall, as of now, even though brief filed by DHS on April 1st, 2019 asking court to strike it out and uphold previous court’s decision, but they have not indicated anything that they are going to cancel their rulemaking process for H4 EAD removal. So, technically the H4 EAD rule is still set to be on track to be removed by DHS, just maybe the dynamics can change and may be slowed with the new briefs from Intervenor also supporting the H4 EAD. If this H4 EAD rule removal is implemented, it will have a significant impact to many of the thousands of H4 holders working and they need to plan for backup options like H1B. As it stands today, you can apply for H4 EAD and work on the same, nothing is stopping you from that until the rule is final and USCIS mentions that you cannot work. As far as our estimate based on 9 steps of rulemaking process, we predict the H4 EAD rule removal timeline for Dec 2019

What are your thoughts ? What do you think of timeline for OMB to review the rule ?

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Spoke to an Immigration Attorney in D.C who has formerly consulted for USCIS and other departments. H-4 EAD is not going away yet. In all likelihood, H-4 EAD will be added to the Unified Agenda OMB list and announcement could be made third week of December. As H-4 EAD was made through a detailed comment and rulemaking process, the draft of new proposed role back will be quite detailed and the administration will start working on the draft after coming back from new years holidays. Around 90 days comment period is expected and another 60 for deliberation, another 30 for final rule to take effect. Take or leave half of 2018.

He thinks it will be a complete roll back and there will be sunset clause for natural expiry of ead’s. All H4 EAD’s will collapse back to H4’s. In best case, the collapse will take 12-18 months. No new visas will be issued, but extensions may be issued if transition date is announced. He thinks they will go soft and go hard at the same time.

They have to come up with strong reason as same DHS approve under obama admin. Department of Homeland security always support H4 EAD in past and that is how the rule is passed back in 2015. Now same DHS is not supporting? Same judge already threw case out of court last time so i am thinking it will not go away as they already know it will be long process to go through comments and all. Lot of fake rumors going on in media and websites about it will be revoked but guess what they only do that because their website get more hits. If DHS would like to cancel or revoked then why in first place they support. Also it went through lot of comment and prove period before it written as a rule so i hard to believe that they will take it away.

You are on Non Immigrant Visa and Asking for Rights. Trump can cancel H4EAD with an Executive order. Compared DACA , H4 EAD is just a drop in ocean. The strong reason already exist, H4 EADs are taking over american jobs with out accountability. The judge before was under Obama administration . now its Trump administration . I voted for Hillary. I lost my job to some one at TCS recently . Next time i am voting for Trump.

You are absolutely clueless Ravi. Rules are made and revoked by administration based on their political mandate. The new administration is very different from the Obama administration. White House directs the administration. Trump administration does not have to explain why Obama administration supported H4 EAD rule. If you are on H4 EAD or H1B, I am surprised that with your low intellect, you got this visa.

The Skilled H4 EADs have enough time to apply for H1b visas. All the Husbands here are just crying about double incomes. Think about an american that lost his job at DISNEY . Trump administration gave fair amount time for DACAs. So stop worrying.

Did you lose your job because of H4 EAD? haha. work on your skills and stop making complain. I am green card holder and my wife is not on h4 EAD but i still believe H4 EAD is not going away.

H4 EAD is not issued to all H1B spouse. It is only who had approved I140 which means they are already in line for GC and no point to wait for 20 years where system is broken. That is why the previous administrator pass the rule and that is basic human rights. Obama admin did not pass because it will take American or frustrated unskill H1B people’s job like you.

Even if they revoked, All H4 EAD will be back in line after I140 EAD rules is pass. HR 392 bill got 300 cosponsors and will pass in near future for sure. You will face same problem after fews years as well. So i would say start working on your skill and show your talent in an interview rather than complaining in public forum.

Ridiculous. Disney never provide H1B visa. All disney jobs are for citizens. You lost your job opportunity cause your ability does not deserve the wages you are asking for and you blame that to foreigners who got higher education, more skilled but with lower pay. This is a free market, employees are much more clear than anyone what kind of employers they need. Why don’t you blame that the illegal immigrants took the washer jobs from you?

Even if it’s decided to roll back the h4 ead, can’t the rollback be delayed by months and months if someone decides to file a case against the new regulation that rescinds h4 ead? Because oh law firm shared this view on their news bulletin on 18th November.that it will take months and months for repeal to happen. And infinity if a few court cases are filed.

H4 EAD is gone. Only question is what happens to existing H4 visa holders. May be the Dept will allow them to work for a year or so. In the light of the current situation, H1b visa holders, must accept the reality, that to get some increase in H1b quota and also relief in green card waiting period for India/China, it is better to let H4 EAD go. H4 did not exist prior to 2015 anyway.

According to the US Department of State, 14,768 TN visas (Canadian/Mexican) were issued in 2016, with an additional 9,762 being issued to spouses and children of these professionals. Annually, 10,500 e3 work visas are issued to Australian citizens wanting work in the USA. The beneficiaries of both of these visa’s are 90% Indians. Of course this is a far smaller number than H1B visa (180,057 granted in 2016), but still Indian workforce will still continue to penetrate into United States, using their foreign nationality, whatever doors they close!!!

Where are you getting your numbers from ? In 2016, only 122 TN visas were issued and 45 TD (Dependent Visas) were issued. For Mexicans, 14646 TN Visas were issued and 8863 TD visas were issued. TN visas are only issued to Canadian or Mexican citizens. Two problems with your numbers :

1. The State Department does not provide breakdown of Mexicans and Canadian Citizens country of origins.

2. Are you saying that 90% of Mexican citizens who came on TN visas were Indian ?

Now, where did you get your numbers – “In 2016, only 122 TN visas were issued and 45 TD (Dependent Visas) were issued”, which world are you living in, Karthik???

I am sticking to my argument, a large majority of the TN and E3 work force are ‘East Indians’, doesn’t matter whether they have Canadian, Australian or Mexican passports. Do you know that most of the Indian illegal immigrants are coming through the Mexico route?

The Department of State’s visa report shows that: 14,768 TN visas were issued in 2016, (along with 9,762 TD visas for spouses and children), another 13,093 were approved in 2015, and 11,207 in 2014, for a total of 39,068 TN visas issued (largely to Mexican workers) in the last three full years. Although Canadian workers are not required to apply for a TN visa, a Canadian news source recently estimated that “30,000 to 40,000” Canadians work in the U.S. in TN status. The number of TN visa workers employed in the United States has been growing considerably in the recent years. Although the administration does not keep track of the exact number of aliens in TN visa status, statistics that are available suggest the number could be approaching 100,000!!!

TN Visa’s to some extend make sense, US share borders with Canada and Mexico and they have many trade agreements, and this workforce exchange is a part of it.

But look at the E-3 Visa’s, why the HELL are they giving away 10,500 e3 work visas to Australian citizens wanting work in the USA (thanks to President George W. Bush and Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement!), and most of the E-3 Visa recipients are Indians, just take a look at any forums discussing about E-3 Visa’s. Compared to H1-B, the standards for getting TN/E3 Visa’s are significantly easier, and with Trump enforcing all these restrictions, the TN and E3 recipients are going to grow extensively in the future!

UNITED STATES CAN’T CONTINUE LIKE THIS FOR EVER, IT’S HIGH TIME UNITED STATES SHOULD PROTECT THEIR OWN PEOPLE, MAKE SURE THEY ARE EMPLOYED, OTHERWISE EMPLOY THEM, BEFORE THEY CONTINUE BRINGING WORK FORCE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES!!! ISN’T TRUMP’s VICTORY A PROOF OF THIS ANARCHISM?

For all the people and specially Indians in this forum who cry foul about NON IT spouse entering to IT jobs, one question to you, how many Electricals and Electronics engineer have IT jobs ?? How many Mechanical, Civil and all other engineering background engineers are in IT? And then how many IT and CSE background guys ever protested that non-IT education people are doing IT jobs???

And now coming to people who spent “Lakhs” for their education in US, why do you think an employer should give you a job just because you spent lakhs in your education or because you can do your job better? And why would an employer give a job to a over qualified person for a job which requires common sense, or are you trying to imply that you or your parents had more money than others then you have some sort of prerogative over an IT job? How difficult is it to learn coding?? Or develop application?? There are MIT courses and tons of videos in YouTube from where you can learn, you don’t need an advance degree from A fancy institute for that.

Don’t hide away behind the fact that others are non-IT and you are IT. I know people in my profession which requires high understanding of networking, Unix,Linux,Database, C++ were pizza delivery guys and call Center agents and now they are architects of the system.

So just because someone doesn’t have a non-IT background doesn’t disqualify them. And most of the IT Jobs require basic analytics and it’s not a robot science :).

Yes, very true. so we don’t need to go to a colleague and spent money and time on education. Just complete high school , if needed and enter IT or skilled job faking resume and grow from there. Very good advice. 🙂 🙂

If an electronics or electrical majored engineering person enters an IT or computer job they will do that as a fresher and the company trains them. All matters here is trust I believe, the missing of that is causing the problems.

Where did you get the impression that I am advising people to fake resume?? You don’t have to fake anything if you are good in what you do.

I am technical person on H1b and I am not afraid of anyone be it an H4EAD or a expirenced person of 20 years, coz what I can bring to table for a company is what both of the other candidates will not be able to. I have belief in my capabilities and skills which I have acquired over the years and believe in equal opportunity for all.

Just coz I had the privilege of attending engineering doesn’t mean that I have right to call out other people who were not so privileged. Having said that, I know where support faking or lying for a job. Also, I have taken numerous interviews and numerous times I found out that IT background people may have good coding skills but they lack analytics. Whereas numerous times non-IT people have shown teremendous analytical skills. And after so many years due to their sheer determination and will power and hunger to learn and excel those people are doing far better than people who were “qualified” as per you. As a team lead I would rather hire a sound analytical non-IT guy rather than a dumb IT guy.

Alright. Let’s see. Hopefully you are right. do you think anything within draft says ” We will release by end of friday”. If it does then please give link so i will pass to others so they knows worst thing is coming.

by the way whats your thoughts? Is it h4 ead should stay or need to go away? If it need to go away why? If it need to stay then why?

H1B Aspirant 2018 : Looks like you still need to go for H1B lottery. So, seem frustrated. You seem very talented, why dont you just apply for O visa which are unlimited rather than wishing bad for others (H4EAD aspirants). Why are so afraid from people who who don’t think competent? You want to win a race by ensuring that other don’t participate.

The draft says to be released by 30 Nov. I am a green card holder and so is my spouse. We all benefited from H4-EAD financially and also in career progression, so, I think it should stay. But, it will not. H4, STEM OPT, EB-5 will all go, in the same order. Then, they will crack down big time on H1B. We were fortunate to pass through the queue.

For JK, I do not need to be jealous. But if it makes you feel happy then feel happy. The truth is many of our country men and women are heading home which is sad. But, if you go home I will be happy 🙂 :). Do not hit the door on the way out.

Hey B, My last comment was for user ‘H1B Aspirant 2018’ and not for you 🙂 . Sorry for posting in wrong thread. On lighter node I am not going easily. I have already seem every type of Visa problem in life. H1 Lottery denials, H1 Extension denials. I had to once leave country for 45 days. But I survived 🙂 I will keep surviving.. lol.. My spouse is not on H4. But, I hope H4EAD stays till country cap is removed for GC.

Everyone on H4 EAD please educate yourself on the “Unified Agenda” through which rules for H4 EAD revoke will be released. I do not want to add links here but search for “Unified Agenda and Rule Making Process Focus on H4-EAD”

There is too much misinformation online and this helps all of us who want to stay updated. The site will not allow me to add links, so I am not doing it.

If H4 EAD is stupidity then H1 is stupidity either. Companies can simply outsource jobs and bring people onsite on L1 when required. There is a lot of faking done on H1 by companies bringing people on mass level.

Apart from that giving GC to H1 is also stupidity when they can just use them as temporary workers and push them out when their term is completed.

It is all about prosperity and growth for the country as well as for the people who contribute for the growth. I feel eligible H4 spouses should be given a chance to compete. If H1 candidate cannot compete with H4 candidates for a job, then surely US does not require such H1’s. Better look for some other professions.

H1 Credentials and experience are validated . No one checks H4 education validity. I have seen evolution of H1 employees, some of them are Just dumb to even write 5 lines of code. Yes, H1, L1 must be abolished and replaced with real High Skilled visa that will help USA economy and send back all NON IT Degree low skilled labor back to India. These low educated people cant be compared with Microsoft or Google CEO and give them green cards.

My wife is a java developer with 6 years of coding experience in oracle. She was not able to work for 3 years. Now she can thanks to H4 ead. There are many such spouses who deserve to work and build their careers. That said, fake resumes are common amongst H1B and H4EAD’s cause there is no background checks.

Why there are no lawsuits to ban all type of visas and immigration programs? OPT and H1B should be banned. Stop all sorts of immigration cards. If people waiting for GC, H1B, H4, OPT are sent back, it would create 2 Million jobs immediately. Why Govt. is not thinking about it?

Stopping Outsourcing would create 5 Million jobs. So 7 Million jobs created overnight. It is a simple formula.

2 million jobs lost will immediately convert to 2 million jobs outsources in addition to the 5 Million already outsourced. So, 7 million outsourced. Next thanksgiving you will be jobless, hopeless, depressed and suicidal.

No, more like 2 million jobs converted to 6 million IT jobs in USA. 70% of the coders from India are dumb. The other 30% are super smart. We paid $9 million for a project to deliver code not even worth $1000. Companies are already realizing that. Good Luck with Future of Indian IT market.

Actually your numbers are wrong. Only 20% of H1B Indian Coders are super smart. Rest are in support services who do not need to be as smart. As I said earlier, I run a mid-sized company and employ around 100 people in US (2% are on H4-EAD). We have a good system which can catch fake resumes, embellished experiences. Our interviews are in person and run for 4-5 hours in real project environments, not on phone. We do not hire any H4EAD, only those who can pass out test environment interview for coding or support services. Now, let me get you in on another secret. Only 20% of Americans pass that interview as well, rest are average or below average. We struggle to get good people as we have good standards of hiring. Here is the worst part, most of our super smart Indian and Chinese workers want to go home and we are trying out best to give them equivalent packages. In few months, when the good ones and average ones are gone, US employers will suffer and will scramble to outsourcing again. It is game over. When you create a new policy and replace an old one, a lot of work is required on peripheral reforms to sustain the new policy. Otherwise, it becomes a recipe for failure and this new policy is a recipe for failure.

Completely agree. Well said. If the background checks and interviews are stringent you will peel out the fake ones easily. background checks are very thorough in India and you do not see fake resumes there.

Jane, I had H1B and came back home to India on my own after working in a Top 5 tech company in SFO. I now employ more than 300 employees including 100 in the United States. My response was based on how the USGuy responded. When you wish that you win at others expense, then we wish you the same. You cannot possibly replace 2 Million tech jobs held by expats with Americans. Maybe you can fill 300 K but 2 Million are out of question. It will take around 10 years to catch up with the backlog of skills. In the interim, employers will outsource and find ways to permanently outsource. I always say, careful what you wish for. Go ahead cancel all H1B, all OPT, STEM OPT, H4EAD and see what happens in few years.

Well said. People doesn’t understand the complete picture. They assume there will be better life when they push out immigrants. They don’t understand how immigrants are contributing to this country’s growth.

H1 will not be canceled, as per Trump, one day, Real high skilled labor from all over the world will be replaced fake H1bs that fake resumes. Most of the H1Bs are from companies that run like 7 11 and work on 80%, 20%. And companies like Wipro or TCS that replace America workers, with NO MORALS will be abolished if they dont hire Americans.

H1B will not be cancelled but 60% of applications are being turned down. 47% of renewal applications are receiving massive RFE’s . 16% of those recieving H1B’s are getting visa rejections. Companies like us are being asked to demonstrate what actions we have taken to replace existing H1B with American Workers. H1B is supported to be a temporary stop gap arrangement to get foreign “guest” workers. H1B will not be cancelled and most on H1B (except very few super skilled ones) should prepare to go back home. We are replacing every one of our H1B with American workers.

I am deeply saddened by this state of affairs. I have been a benefactor of H4 EAD, after lawfully migrating to the US. My spouse has spent 12 years, got his degree here, and we have lawfully paid taxes. After getting my EAD, I got my career back on track, and I am also in important projects. Yes, I know I am replaceable, but this will be a huge blow to my employer. Has anyone thought of next steps and alternate routes?

I would say do not worry for the time being. Agreed there are speculation of a proposal doing the rounds, but I would be careful in taking any drastic step now. H4EAD took some time to be implemented as it went through a lot of processes. So cancelling it wont be so quick, if it happens. So whoever has H4EAD or are planning to apply or extend, just do the the processes. Most important here is that you and others who have started to work should keep working and have back up plans, in case this happens.

So relax, keep doing what you are supposed to be doing, dont fret on something which has not yet been announced (officially) or implemented.

What does this mean for the community? What conclusion can you draw from this action of both the DHS requesting more time and the court not granting more time ? Does it mean the other party wins the case – i.e. SaveJobsUSA is successful in cancelling H4EAD rule going forward? Please share your comments.

This means H4 EAD is definately gone. Search online and you will find news information on the fall unified agenda in which H4 EAD revocation will be released. They can do it in two ways. One is they can released a proposed rule anytime, even tommorow, then add it to the unified agenda. second is that they can h4ead under pre-rule making and start the process next year. H4EAD is gone. Prepare for that eventuality. My wife has moved to F-1 Visa in a Masters Program while my job is safe for now. I think everyone should do the same who have the financial resources.

for which community ? Are we talking about Indian Casts … H4 EAD will be abolished in few months and EADs will move back to H4 or H1 back again. mostly H4. And i bet none of them belong in IT Community with their fake resumes.

I am an H4 EAD holder and I can attest that I got a job in spite of having a 4-year gap in my resume. I didn’t fake my resume, nor did I get the help of shady consultancies. The statement is verified by the 4-year gap, because I did not want to fake experience to get H1B. With a lot of struggle, I was able to restart my career, with good results. I shudder to think of going back to the previous state. I don’t know how I am going to present to my current employer if the situation changes. The employer has invested a lot in my career, and it will be heartbreaking for me to have to leave my job because of a political move.

Don’t look everything in financial prospective. Think about eligible candidates who are sitting in home ruining their career for family ties and uneven immigration rules. Career gives them a stability, confidence & discipline in life.

My wife has gone through the same trouble. She finally got a good job and she is doing well. If H4EAD is canceled, then i am going back India . Prefer that we both have good careers rather than be desperate and live and sacrifice so much. Not a word in our resume is fake. System sucks.

As a backup option, explore jobs in Canada. With US experience it might not be difficult to get a offer from Canada or check if you employer can transfer to Canada. ‘Offer’=’Visa’ there. Also, if you have saved some money you can apply Investor PR in Canada, you need to invest very less for that. Somebody told me 200K Canadian $. Explore it.

I know H1B approvals are getting tighter day by day. Everyone is behind H1B but at the same time H4 EAD people are coming to IT field with fake experiences and educational certifications. Both are working at the same field, they why H4 EAD’s are like free of background checks by USCIS? I saw some one saying consultancy will make sure H4 EAD’s are genuinely experienced. If that’s the case they will make the same validated with H1 B too right?..Now many fake candidates are in IT market just because of H4 EAD. No doubt about that.

Don;t generalize things.. We all know the fact majority of consultants on H1 & OPT are fake. That’s the reason H1;s are getting screwed up anf not H4’s. Less than 10% of H4 are into IT. I hired couple of candidates on H4 and they left the gap in the resume of 3-4 yrs unlike 2 H1’s and 1 OPT guy which we fired, because they kept fake resume. We want honest people in our team but not fake exp people like u. That doesn;t mean that all H1’s are OPT’s are fakes. Generalizing is one of the worst thing that majority of Indians have. To be more raw nature , just because you are born in an area where it;s know for prostitution doesn;t make you a prostitute. If you think so, think the same for this. It’s upto ur talent and skills that lands you a good job. If u are such talented enough, you should have got a FT. I bet that either u r an OPT or H1 fake exp candidate who can;t compete but rather cry on others!! So just get out of this country and shout somewhere else.

very true sir. Supporting you does not mean, i am against H4 EAD, But people among us only fool the govt and take wrong advantage. I see people having No IT background working in IT earning $40/hour. That is really saddening and not what anyone wants. Be honest with you and govt and country you are living in. There are other things that you can be good at. Try other things too. Getting into an IT job is not only thing.

At the end of the day EAD is EAD. No restrictions!! Remember that!! It’s same as DACA EAD. WHy don;t you guys ask about it? EAD means work permit. You can work anywhere!! Background check is same for everyone.. No one discriminates it based on H1 or H4. They follow the same practices as any visa. Except for very very few consulting positions, no one is accepting H4 EAD’s.

The amount of scrutiny for H4 is far less than H1. Whether you agree it or not. THAT IS THE FACT. Do you think people who genuinely did their Masters here spending Lakhs bagged a Full time and could not get a H1 because of a f***ing lottery are ill fated than people who know they would be without job and decided to marry a H1 person and come to US and make use of this shortcut to Work at Malls and Grocery shops? And coming to your point on BG. Where is the skillset validation, Occupation validation, Educational Eval, Education to type of work validation done just as how it is done with H1 and OPT. Whoever you’re try to be in shoes of a H1 or OPT candidate and then talk. My wife herself did her masters here and I have a GC. I wont encourage her to go on H4 because of this shit. How much ever you support H4 is not as scrutinized as H1/OPT and that is the FACT. Period.

Very true… There are many candidates on H4 EAD working presently in IT faking the resume. Many of them might not have a related computer degree. We all know that..But some people won’t agree..This will affect genuine people’s integrity also which they are not realizing. No one is against H4 EAD. But like some one asked, where are the validation process H4 EAD’s have to go through same like H1B holders? Why are they getting mad when some one say this is missing and is needed. It’s very pathetic that genuine people on H1B and H4 EAD has to suffer a lot because of H4 EAD misuse. It’s not that easy to get H1 B approvals.

I have been working in this country for the last 10 years on H1B(waiting for GC indefinitely… :D). These days, whenever I complete project and come to bench, I find it extremely difficult to get the next project. The vendors are paying just $50 for jobs worth $80 to $85 per hour. When I ask for reasons, they say that they have H4 candidates willing to work for rates as low as $40 to $45. The clients also prefer them, because they can hire them as full time. Finally, when these idiots come in for work, 90% of them fake their resume, and the rest of the team members have to work for them . It is high time that H4 EAD system has to be stopped! Hope government will do something about this!

Oh!! Here comes a fake exp guy.. Even I have 10 plus yrs experience (Real not fake like u) but I have moved on to FT 5 yrs back. In fact working as a consultant even after 10 yrs shows either u r incompetent or greedy for money or fake experience. On top of that even after working for 10 yrs as a consultant, you still beleive the vendors!! Lol !! First fundamental concept of EVC is it’s all shady business. Beleiving them is the biggest joke of the century. I had a stint as recruiter as well…Everthing what they say is fake and even the billing rates are fake (they mask it) and they started blaming on H4 EAD to get even more money into their pocket.. I only pity you because you don;t even how things go behind the curtains even after working as 10 yrs..May GOD have mercy on you. Because of people like you, vendors are taking additional 25$ per hr into their pocket..Less than 5% are into IT. Do some research before you speak crap!!

Post you Data Analysis results here. Who said <5% are into IT and show your data points before shouting here in the forum. You yourself said <10% are in IT earlier and now you said <5% Woah. Hold your horses dude. Why are you angry when ppl are talking about Fake H4s. Are you one of them too? I think you are and worried about moving to F1/H1 and like this shortcut rather. Good luck fellas. I wish this is removed and you guys will come and see the actual probs F1s and H1s face these times. Wish you bad luck

I have applied for my H4 extension on 24th july 2017. Its still pending with USCIS. Then I applied for H4EAD on 5th sep 2017 again it still pending. I want to know if my H4 ext is dependent on my my spouse h1b ( as he got RFE, which is been responded by his employer). also can I expect my H4EAD to get approved earlier then H4 ext?

Can you please give me an idea of H4EAD timeline. Currently, I am in H1B valid till 2020. I am planning to apply for H4 and EAD (concurrently) in Deccember 2017 for H4 start date of Jan 2018. Can you please give me an idea regarding the timeline for H4 approval and EAD card to get in hand? My calculation below are based on current processing times, however, what I am not sure of is whether EAD processing start only after H4 is approved (when filed concurrently) or does EAD processing start concurrently with H4 processing.

This is something based on facts available. If you are lucky you might get it earlier or sometimes later too. But Can I suggest an easier and faster approach? If your spouse is out of USA currently, she can get her H4 stamped and fly inside the country and apply H4 EAD which would be given in max of 90 days. If she is in USA and you are trying to apply COS, it is much easier to travel, get H4 stamping and then apply H4 EAD once back. Just thought you could reduce your wait time. Think and decide the best! Good luck!

Thanks Ram. That is an option which we have discussed that we will not pursue. But coming back to the point above, it seems that any thing can happen. Since there is no standard trend of H4 approval timeline and EAD issue, receipt timeline. So the only thing that can be done is, apply with proper paperwork and wait and hope for expedited positive result.

When USCIS approved H4 EAD, they are not scrutnizing anything to make sure that candidate is eligible for IT job. When a consulting agency recruits them or hires them, it’s their sole responsibilty to check their prior experiences they put in the resume are genuine or not. Because the consulting companies are not doing that,l a lot of fake candidates are already working in IT. Think about H1 B candidates, Most of them have genuine experience and computer related or engineering degree and suffering the most for getting the petitions approved. But H4 EAd is the greatest loophole existing now to enter IT easily. Some actions should be made to stop this happen.Genuine people should get the job they deserve.

It looks like u don;t have even basic knowledge of H1B. You should know that more than 50% of H1B’s are fake …Working in IT for the past 15 yrs, I have seen only fake resumes for contract positions. We received only 2 genuine out of 200 resumes we received after we asked our vendor for DL & H1B copy. Don;t come to conclusions without knowing facts and figures. Majority of genuine H1B;s are FT. H4 EAD is similar to DACA EAD, u can do whatever u want and u can’t question it. It’s not OPT EAD where u can work in only STEM field. I have seen so many people like you in my career where they blame others as that;s the easiest thing they can do. AMerica doesn;t deserve or need people like u. U can go back and start working in your home country where there is more place for people like you and blame each other. We all come to US to have good life . Stop blaming and concentrate on how to get a job and not curse your fellow H4’s. You should also remember that because of people like u, H1B immigrants from India condition is so bad, because you don;t support each other. Learn from DACA people , see how united they are , They all fight for one common cause while people like u fight with each other…

Can’t agree more, most H1Bs having skills are full time associates. The struggles who can’t cope & learn will keep moving from one client to another and blame whoever they fell are a threat to their prospects for new consulting job opportunities. There are countless talented people on H4 EAD who choose to go the EAD route to be independent of green card hassles and to not get stuck with a useless body shopping firm for eternity in the hope of a green card.

My query to all pessimists, why do you think you are being bounced from one company to another perpetually? Think deep, is it the skills or the hundred thousand excuses?

At a minimum, I’m expecting people who can form a proper article to reply! Just don’t remorse me for spending few minutes to think about & write this!

There are various reasons for people who are on H1B not an FTE for a client. Sometimes they work in the client location and eventhough client wants them to give FT, but might be due to the reason that they don’t offer sponsorships, H1 people has to continue as contractors. There will be other valid resons also. So don’t just assume things.

For H1 B approvals we need to show all the documents related to work experience, client letters, SOW , and the list goes on. I have the strong suggestion and wish that if an H1 B or H4 EAD is not genuine they need to be reported or shouldn’t be encouraged to continue on what they are doing. When H4 EAD can work anywhere, it doesn’t mean that places like IT where you need skilled people and related education qualifications , they can just add what they want to the resume and get in to IT. Unfortunately we are seeing a lot of H4 EAD people in the market ready to work for very very low wages to enter IT field.

Once you have H1B and you get a good offer or full time employment all you need to do is file for H1B transfer.No kind of sponsorship is involved in this.Only your skills and abilities are stopping you from getting a FT.How can you assume that all H4 eads are fake? There are also other kind of Eads such as L2 and some J visas too, they are doing just fine.If they are fake how can they survive in such competitive industry? The government has given the opportunity for them to utilize their abilities its up to the employers to figure out if they are fake or not.As some one has mentioned here its not that hard to filter out fake resumes.They can do it they care.So breathe easy and let all live.

I think when H4 EAD’s attempt for skilled jobs like in IT or where related education and experience matters, there should be made some provisions to get additional paperworks to be done or approved from USCIS to ensure they are genuine exactly the same H1 people are going through. There are ‘n’ number of H4 EAD’s in market now and most of them are aiming for IT related jobs. I don’t believe H4 EAD is count is less like L2’s or J visas. Is there any wage determination or anything like that for H4 EAD to determine if they are working at the standard rate like H1 B people? I belive NO. In my opinion that’s a big loophole. No one is saying to stop H4 EAD. But should be scrutnized when they come to skilled jobs.

You are real frustrated as your name suggests. Don’t blame H4 EAD for your frustration, blame yourself. Improve on your skills to get a job rather than putting the blame on others. There are N number of EAD categories and everyone has the right to work, that includes DACA, H4 and even refugees. The companies who are hiring will find out who is fake and who is not and not you or government. Does government checks the Greencard holder or Citizens if they have fake experiences ? No, government does not get into that business. If the competition is getting stiff that means either there are less jobs or there are more skilled people in the market to take up the job. Improve your skills and move on………just Chill !!

Let employers decide who they wan to hire. They are paying salary not you. H4 EAD is as good as Green Card temporarily, You can do what ever you want, gov is not validating your skill or exp. If I am an employer, I interviewed, person seemed good, is working fine for me. I am fine, I would not need a third person like you to guide me on whom to hire. If I get them cheaper, they do my work, they are best. Why do I need to hire a overqualified person for a easy job. Also, H4 EAD is only after GC approval of spouse. So, ideally that person should have got GC. Just because he/she is from India where wait times are high this thing is dragging so long. So, at least there is a H4 EAD to compensate. Note** Me and my spouse are not on H4 EAD. So, we are not benefited. But I am happy for others.

I believe you are just frustrated because you or your friends/family didn’t get a job in the USA. you should understand how much value it is to have H4 EAD in place for everyone. Don’t just think about yourself as selfish, try to encourage everyone. Do you guarantee that stopping H4 EAD will stop filling in with fake experience IT professionals? If you stop concentrating on others status/jobs and try searching for a job yourself you would definitely get a job for sure. Stop talking with half knowledge, your posts doesn’t do any good, rather it destroys the benefits we currently get. Read daily news and gain some knowledge. Else still you can’t understand that having H4 EAD is for our good, then you better go back and do some other work, rather than the IT. It suits you. you are not a person that can fit in here.

Why there are not possible actions to prevent H4 EAD’s who are not really qualified( doesn’t have 4 year Computer related degree or not have valid professional experience) landing in IT fields in US? Do you think this will happen in India. In India there are different levels of background checks and verifications( joining, relieveing letters,paystubs) before we join an IT company. But in US this is not happening. Whoever is getting H4 EAD is landing in to IT . This shouldn’t be encouraged. If we know some one who is working like this, they should be reported to USCIS. Because a lot of H4 EAD ladies misused this, now there are lot of restrictions on H1B., who are really genuine people. When USCIS grant H1B approvals, those will be either have MS degree in US or have relevant IT work experience. Think about people in H4 EAD coming in to IT. No one is verifiying anything for them, They will get in touch with a consultance and directly come to IT. Consultancies should check the certificates or paystubs or offer letters from previous companies if the candidate says they have this many years of work experience,

There are various reasons for people who are on H1B not an FTE for a client. Sometimes they work in the client location and eventhough client wants them to give FT, but might be due to the reason that they don’t offer sponsorships, H1 people has to continue as contractors. There will be other valid resons also. So don’t just assume things.

For H1 B approvals we need to show all the documents related to work experience, client letters, SOW , and the list goes on. I have the strong suggestion and wish that if an H1 B or H4 EAD is not genuine they need to be reported or shouldn’t be encouraged to continue on what they are doing. When H4 EAD can work anywhere, it doesn’t mean that places like IT where you need skilled people and related education qualifications , they can just add what they want to the resume and get in to IT. Unfortunately we are seeing a lot of H4 EAD people in the market ready to work for very very low wages to enter IT field.

As per your comments, you are saying action should be taken against H4 EAD. only one question comes to you is why should genuine H4 EAD people sit idle at home. what if they are talented and why they should not be in compete with every H1B. so don’t just blame entire H4 EAD people as if only few people are allowed to work and remaining are not. who told you that H4 EAD are not getting background verified. Are you part of any background check companies. Do go and check outside how the background checks are strong enough to identify who are genuine and who are not.

Are they doing something to scrutnize H4 EAD people. Many H4 EADs are working in IT with out any experience and education background. This scrutiny should be made on H4 EAD making sure that people who are really experienced and educated are doing the work in IT. Actually they made all the chaos realted to the feeeling of American jobs are taking away.

I won’t say H4 EAD should be revoked. As there are genuine and skilled people there. Companies should do a better job while selecting H4 EAd candidates cross check their experiences are valid or fake. Many are already in IT industry with fake experiences. Who ever joined with in the past 2 years in H4 EAD, ofcourse there are genuine people but majority of them are not genuine. When USCIS grant them H4 EAD, it’s not for working as a junior dev or QA in IT, many of the H4 EADs are thinking like that.

@Mira-Not all of us are misusing the H4EAD. Most of us are pretty qualified with prior work experience and have taken the necessary steps like masters, certifications to make us qualified enough to do the job, and the fact that we are still on the job, getting promotions prove that we can pretty much compete with anybody in the job market. So stop generalising. I agree that H4EAD rules should be tightened but completely eliminating it because of a really silly generalization is no good. Why should we suffer the collateral damage … we put our best feet forward at work, bring revenues to the company and even pay taxes like any other law abiding citizen! We are helping develop the economy.

Don’t you think your kid’s should become more competitive, so that no one will steal any job from them. H4 EAD people also worked hard to get a job for their living. Revoking H4EAD won’t do any good for your kids. Competition exists everywhere.

I am on H1 and my company started my PERM (recruitment ended and about to file PERM application) process and I got promoted now within same department without change in job duties, do you think PERM should be starting all over again, or its fine to continue since my job duties remain same.

To make sure all are on same page, the source of the documents for are available on the Courts website, but they require free registration of account and only individual have to login and view the documents. They are not supposed to be posted publicly unless it is a published opinion by court. Hence, we are not posting any documents here as source. While other sites like perchingtree have posted such documents, it is violation of court policy to publish such documents without court permission. If you noticed, none of the attorney’s like murthy.com, immigrationgirl, etc. have not published any such documents or linked because they are not allowed by court.

Shivani, if you have already applied for H4 EAD or even if you want to apply for it now USCIS will honor it and give you a new EAD card based on H1b validity or at least for 1 year, whichever is earlier. There is no change until H4 EAD is revoked by the Judiciary. Also, it will not be abruptly stopped. They will give sometime to review the Bill like they are doing it for DACA bill.

I am guessing if the court takes the decision to revoke after Dec. 31st, H4 EAD workers can still work for until another 6 months or till there EAD expires. So, nothing to worry on immediate basis but as the article mentions you can plan for a backup .

I am a lawyer and fair use of public documents and court filings are allowed. However, you cannot use for them profit. If the filing parts requests for their filings to be be sealed, then, they are sealed and cannot be published in public domain.

If your Green card process is initiated and you have your i140 is approved, then she would be eligible for H4 EAD after which she can work. If not, she is not authorized to work here on H4. However if interested she can pursue higher education here.

My daughter was on student visa and done her masters in finance.Aafter finished her masters she did not get approval of lottery H1b visa.so she went on dependent visa.This year she was selected in Luckydraw but again USCIS send RFE that your qualifications are not match with your salary So please give me suggestions what to answer As my daughter ‘s education qualification….CA,CPA,MS in Finance,CFA 1st level

I have been in US for 2 months on H4 and i have 7 years of IT experience. I am looking forward to continue my career in US with employment authorisation. Could you please suggest either good to apply for H4 EAD or F1(student VISA) or my spouse can sponser for my H1B?

I currently have H4 EAD and doing my Masters now. As I’m planning to graduate in this Fall’17, I’m in dilemma if I should apply for F1 student visa (through change of status) to be in a safer side as the future of H4 EAD is unclear.

What would you recommend in this situation? Should I stay in H4 EAD or convert to F1? Also I’m not sure how long would it take for the change of status to get approved.

If you had H-1B previously and then move to H4 (w/ or w/o EAD), you can move to H-1B w/o going through the lottery. You will be considered cap-exempted and any employer can file H-1B petition for you anytime w/o worrying about the lottery/cap.

I am on H4 Ead .I did not take away any american job .I am applying to Jobs which match my profile and giving interviews with americans .Although hard luck till now.You cannot tell all Indians fake their resumes

I am on H4 , last year i had applied for H1B and picked in lottery but still waiting for approval. Its been a year now waiting to it don’t know whether it will get approved or not.😔😔this year my spouse’s H1B is eligible to applying H4 EAD. So as back up I wanted to know can I apply for H4 EAD while I have applied H1B? Whether it will create any problem my status?

On one side you think that H4 EAD holders are taking away jobs of skilled Americans and on the other side you say that H4 EAD fake their experience and have no skills. So that means even with no skills and expertise , they take away high skilled jobs. What a joke !! Just use your brains and think before putting your views forward.

If a american is so skilled then no H4 EAD holder can take away his/her job. It is just impossible to survive on high skilled jobs by faking skills and no experience in this fast paced world. One should not snatch the basic right of a person to work.

Have faith in yourself and compete with whatever comes . Taking away the right to work from some one is not a solution. I SUPPORT H4 EAD !!

Just go to indeed or any jobs site and look for IT jobs. There are tons of them out there. They don’t get filled for weeks and months due to lack of talent. These jobs then get shipped out to Romania, India, France and other European countries. That is loss of tax revenue in the US. Same holds for H4 EAD. It all sounds good when people get angry and say let’s keep the jobs. Companies work on deadlines and have to keep the shareholders happy. The ideal state would be to tighten the regulations and have an orderly process. Let’s not waste jobs and discourage companies in the name of nationalism. IT is a multi billion dollar industry in the US due to Americans and immigrants working together.

How can you generalize? Why do you think all H4 are always not qualified? I have 10 years of IT exp and I hold H4 EAD as well. Mine and my husband’s technologies and line of work are totally different. I can do nothing with his VPN. I don’t know with what level of knowledge you are talking with? I think one has to be sensible in writing the statements. You are nobody to decide who has to go and come. Everyone are capable enough to handle such matters when they have gone to the level of getting H4 to their spouse. You can mind such matters at your family level.

Looks like you are speaking from your own experience. Who are you to tell someone to go back !! If someone is not qualified, how can he/she snatch a job from a well qualified person ? Think before you speak !! And If you have so much trouble then you pack your bags and move out as you are the one who is not able to deal with it !!

I mean really. your name says “Jaya” must be indian and look at your words , seems like you will kill everyone if given a chance. Everybody has the right to work. No body is stealing jobs or opportunities. what you gonna do with this much hatred for your own people. I feel pity on you miss “Jaya”. Really so shameful

Its employer judgement to decide who is qualified and who is not. Doesn’t matter if somebody learned from spouse’s computer. If you have learned it properly and can deliver to keep employer satisfied, its good enough. It seems like you studied some course in USA from some below average college and see H4 EAD folks as a competition for you. H4 EAD is 100% justified until the country cap is removed from green-card. Just because Indian’s have to wait so long for green card, the people on H1/H4 keep piling up. Please note that me or my spouse both are on H1, but we feel positive for H4 EAD. Also, how can you be so gender specific even men can be on H4.

all the ***** here talking about banning h4 eads have no idea what a h1b has to go thorough to survive in this economy with spouse and children’s, on one person’s salary. when you will be in their shoes then will talk about it. and the lawsuit filed by the savejobusa is total bullshit now data to support read the case. how can they say h4 ead is taking their jobs meaning bunch of sposues are able to over throw all these talented american IT workers that means they are really not that talented and have their jobs because of no competition and just by being us citizens crybabies.

I have a question. I have applied for h4 ead renewal which will be valid till 2020. My question is, if h4 ead gets revoked in future, will I able to continue working with my current approved ead till it expires. I hope the future renewals will be stopped. Please clarify. Will rules apply retroactively?

It all comes down to how the administration decides to roll back H-4 EAD (in case that’s their final decision). My best guess is they would let current EADs in place until their expiration date and not provide anymore EAD renewal/approval. We will have to wait for the administration to provide more guidance on this.

Time to leave this country if this happens. It’s better to have two salaries in any other country including India vs having to depend on one here and live a sub par life of slavery until you get your GC (15 yrs wait time lol).

What i fail to understand is why the H4 ead is getting so much attention when the dependents of other visa categories like L1 have had the work authorization for so long…why is there no outcry for that. H4 ead is for the dependents of future citizenz of this country and not temporary work force because it is granted only to those that have the 140 approved. Also, the notion that it only adds cheap labor is ridiculous as I know so many people with spouses who have years of experience and masters degrees that are now able to work and add to US economy.

@Notanamerican There is nothing wrong with what Joanne wrote. I am on H1B and I know lot of Telugu folks with fake resumes and fake experience and even a false immigration status, working in the IT industry. These people bring bad name to the already infamous H1B and should be reported. Also, no need to be butthurt over her comments, seems like you are one of those fake Telugu shameless idiot.

I agree there are a lot of BS IT consultants floating around but not restricted to Telegu (although perhaps the majority) or one community but across the board comprising Indians, Chinese, Russians, etc.. They need to be weeded out..the majority of them have little to no expert skills or communication skills for that matter and such jobs are best outsourced, There’s no value to having these people work in the US on H1s rather than having them perform their routine tasks sitting in India.

And yes they do give H1s, the IT industry and Indian IT workers a bad name in general…

I also agree with Joanne , I also seen in USA some fake telgu guys are taking advantage of H1 B Visa. Neither they have qualification nor experience. They shown fake high experience and get jobs easily. Just because of these people bad name spread for everyone who even are real, qualified and deserving.

US has 45 lakh Indians, out of which 6.5 lakh are Telugu = 14.4% of Indian Immigrants are Telugu India’s population is 130 crore, out of which 8.5 crore are Indians (highest south Indian language) = 6.5 % of Indians are Telugu

Engineering graduates in US per year = 1 lakh in US Engineering graduates in India per year = 15 lakhs in India

In Andhra there are two options, Engineer or Doctor, all other professions are very minority. so, they go all over to graduate engineering in all other states possible. The Telugu number is always high, even in IITs/ BITS/ etc..

Indian state wise: State—————->No.of Colleges of any type Andhra (Telugu)–> 5200 (20 lakh students) 95% of them are Telugu Karnataka ——–> 3600 (13 lakh students) 20% of them are Telugu Tamil Nadu ——-> 2500 (18 lakh students) 10 % of them are from Telugu

so, looking at a brief states above, one must understand, Most of Engineers in India are Telugu at par with any others. Most of the IT jobs/ visa are for Telugu’s, whats wrong in it. Hyderabad has most of the Software training Institutes than any other place in the “World”, can you believe this? and that place is called, “Ameerpet”, where many people from other states/ countries come here to learn Software hands on. and so..on..

Now tell me, why do you think a State that produces more engineers have its relative share in H1B too. Engineering education is the main graduation of Telugu people. we cant avoid it.

Dont be racist on any one community, learn the stats before pointing some one. I am not Telugu, I am Kannadiga. Telugites are our younger brothers. We love them. Telugu people are very friendly, I have very good Telugu friends. Yes they are more in IT, but they are good.

I don’t get admission in my entire state, I found many Engineering colleges in South offers low level percentage too for get degree as an engineer. That’s insane. But I cleared as an engineer from Bengaluru also found many are from my state who didn’t get admission in any engineering colleges in local state universities they all mostly are there. That’s why you guys have just engineers without brain. like me. I am now not working as engineer what I studied in southern university. I changed my field, now on GC thank God.

When compared to more than 155 Million people in workforce, percentage of H4 EAD workers is very less, roughly 100-130K. The lawsuit makes no sense because 1. These H4 EAD workers are not all in IT, some are doing business, research and several other fields 2. These H4 EAD workers are not all at one location to be impacting job search 3. DHS does have authority to make decisions for employment, that is reason whole rule making process was followed and there were more positive comments than negative 4. A small percentage of H4 applicants are eligible for this employment authorization, NOT all, H1 petitioner should have I-140 approved or applied past year.

Lets say, A person is holding valid H1B stamped visa(Selected in 2015 H1B lottery) but due to some reason that person could not traveled and his/her visa got expired last year(Oct 2016). Now company again filled an amendment with extension (As earlier it was for another location) in PP (USCIS acknowledged the case on 29th march).

Does this latest news about H1B is going to affect those candidates as well?

I pray that the H4 EAD rule to go off as already thousands of talented professionals are waiting for their first opportunity. This is the only reason I like Trump and the administration! I don’t know why they want to wait for 6 more months….

I support H-4 EADs but I hate the fact that they are faking their experience and knowledge. A person who has just graduated is able to compete with people like you who are having 12 years of experience by changing some terms on their resume.

H1b is a very specific job requirement, and on the other hand H4 EAD can pick up any job, right from school teacher to Walmart clerk to starting their own company. If you are H1B Aspirant then there is no impact on that.

If you think an H4 EAD holder (a person who might have had a break for couple of years) can cause you your job , then you don’t belong to the ‘highly skilled’ criteria to apply for H1. And also what if they decide to apply for H1? Dosent it mean more number of people and lottery and you loose a chance . I hope that you will still ‘like’ Trump administration when they bring in H1 B reforms .

Some ignorant comments by ignorant trump supporters here…obsessed with ‘liking’ him and dismissing the truth as ‘fake news’. I hope he does something in your favor but so far he’s made it very clear- reduce or cut H1s and limit legal immigration.

H1-B Aspirants wants H4 EAD to go off and few Americans want H1-B to go off, we all need less competition, ain’t it?

Compared to other visas, the H1-B visas and student visas are a lot abused. Instead banning the EAD, the DHS should streamline the work visas so that it cannot be abused. They should also consider abolishing dependent visas for anyone above 21 or so and live in US should be free to work – it is known to be a free country after all.

Freedom to work is a basic human right and it shouldn’t be snatched.

To the abusers, and fake resume – remember what goes around comes around – have some integrity for self and the country.

You people really think H4 EADs work in Walmart. Just got wifes H4 EAD approved last week. She has double masters degree and is currently CEO and Founder of a company funded by American investors. Already have two Americans employed and creating more jobs in USA with three other positions currently open.

H1B Aspirant 2018 : Looks like you still need to go for H1B lottery. So, seem frustrated. You seem very talented, why dont you just apply for O visa which are unlimited rather than wishing bad for others (H4EAD aspirants). Why are so afraid from people who who don’t think competent? You want to win a race by ensuring that other don’t participate.